S’wak artists underappreciated

Vice president of the Sarawak Artist Society, Gerald Goh (third from right) with the artists who will be attending a joint exhibition in Foshan, Chinaon October 12.

Vice president of the Sarawak Artist Society, Gerald Goh posing with his ‘Last Supper’ painting.

KUCHING: Artists in Sarawak are underappreciated, said the vice president of the
Sarawak Artist Society, Gerald Goh,

He told a press conference here yesterday that there was no government gallery in Sarawak to showcase the talents oflocal artists while the Saradise Gallery was privately owned.

Goh said in other countries, artists were very much appreciated.Because of that, he added many artists there worked during their free time.

“In other countries, visiting art galleries is one of the tourist attractions. I hope we can get to that stage as we have a lot of rich, local
cultural scenes that can be depicted through art,” he
pointed out.

Goh also hoped the Tourism Ministry couldpromote local artworks.
He revealed that for the first time ever, 15 artists from Sarawak would be attending a joint exhibitionin Foshan, China on October 12.

Goh, who is the organising chairman of the event, said the one-month exhibition wouldfeature two artworks from each of the 15 participants.

The event is supported bythe Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports.

The Bureau of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sports in Foshan, China sponsored part of the trips.

According to Goh, the 2018 One Belt One Road Joint Art Festival would be a two-way art exploration and experiential journey for the participating
artists.

Meanwhile, at the Saradise Gallery, local artworks and artworks from China are displayed for public viewing until October 15.

Goh, who has a painting called the “Last Supper” at the gallery, is putting it up for sale for RM30,000. He said half of the proceeds would go to SMK St Teresa to rebuild the hall which was razed late last year.